BIG CAT seen crossing the Sturt Highway - 3 cars stopped for it!

Hi Yowie,

I don't claim that pigs made the kill.. I didn't write that they killed anything. But they can and they do eat other animals and carrion. I have seen in one night what a pig or pigs can do to a body of a dead sheep or kangaroo. You say that pigs cant leave the skin squeeky clean or remove it from the carcass? You would be shocked!! They are very aggressive eaters and make very light work of anything in size up to a cow.(if already dead). I recall quite often leaving sheep carcasses on the edge of scrub to find that pigs had dragged it back into the forest and devoured everything but a few ribs, shoulder blades and a length of spine. Also personaly witnessing this many times .These were in areas where there aren't wild dogs for 100's of km's.
I'm sure anyone on this forum who has been out chasing pigs would have seen some of what the pigs are capable of. You also state that these areas don't have pigs? I didn't comment on any specific area or case. I was only offering an alternative to the views expressed with what had happened to the livestock lost in many cases. I too was once a strong believer in big cats in OZ, I had a farmer show me dead cows that they swore was a Panther or some big cat killing them but after spending time abroad watching and seeing these animals for real the kills bared no resemblance to any kills made by big cats.
The pics you have posted the links too, I can only hope that they are genuine or correctly identified, as I have said, I would be very excited to think they really are getting around here. But it will take more than that to prove it.
Anyway if you want to see what pigs can do. Ill try and dig up some old pic's of carcasses for you.

Cheers,
Paul

I don't claim that pigs made the kill..


You are claiming dogs can do the initial kill..and pigs could follow up.

You say that pigs cant leave the skin squeeky clean or remove it from the carcass?

I am saying that pigs or dogs cannot leave a kill looking neat and tidy and like it was hit by a vacuum cleaner.
I also gave you an example of a wallaby that had been grabbed by the rear leg, by something with long and powerful claws.
Dogs..do not kill like that..and pigs do not certainly clean up carrion and leave marks like that.
The problem is this..you can find loads of normal kill scenes..they are not the interesting thing.
Its the kill scenes in a tiny % that are the outliers..they point to something odd.


The pics you have posted the links too, I can only hope that they are genuine or correctly identified, as I have said, I would be very excited to think they really are getting around here.

Then you should be excited..
They are genuine..you asked for them..
If you think they are of any animal other than felid..post up some photos..
They are cat..


But it will take more than that to prove it.

Correct..thank god there is so much out there..
You asked for the photos..I gave them to you.

Anyway if you want to see what pigs can do. Ill try and dig up some old pic's of carcasses for you.

Thanks

yowies wrote:

The part I mentioned about the claw marks in the tree is the youtube clip showing where a woman had an animal strung up in a tree and a camera set up to try and photgraph it. Now I don't mean to knock the video, I would be as excited as the next person to know for real that we have big cats running around the bush.


Yes..I know the video.She believed the animal pulled the roo from the back..through the tree fork....by chance..
If a dog/pig/goanna etc removed the animal..how come the game camera did not catch them.?

If I understood the video correctly, they hung the bait in the fork of a tree and placed a camera with a motion sensor nearby to watch and see. Unfortunately, they hung the bait (wallaby?) in the fork of a tree and didn't put a camera on the other side to monitor that side as well. It was held in place by four strong zap-straps (cable ties).

In the night, something climbed up the rear-side of the tree and pulled the bait through the forked trunk of the tree.

The clawmarks on the rear side of the tree were incredibly large and deep.

Now comes the sleuthing: Were they amateurs or pranksters looking to create an internet hoax or were they really hoping to catch a Big Cat on camera?
I have no idea. Here's the video link if you missed it earlier: LINK TO VIDEO

I suppose it's technically just as likely to be the "extinct" Marsupial Lion (Thylacoleo carnifex). Those things used to roam around here and had a similar size. Much more different dental structure though compared to Big Cats. There's a webpage devoted to the possibility here... and having spent a lot of time in the Blue Mountains, there's enough unpopulated wilderness there to support a colony of ANYTHING.


Cast of the so-called Blue Mountains Lion print. Also shown is a view of the bones and claws of this animal, believed to be extinct




From the webpage:
Called "warrigals" or "rock dogs" by the former Blue Mountains Aboriginal tribes, the monsters were described as being from 2 to 2.3 metres in length and around one metre tall when standing on all fours. They invariably had light-brown to dark-brown fur, a large catlike head, a long, shaggy mane, and large shearing-teeth protruding from their powerfuljaws.

Nicknamed the "Blue Mountains Lion" by early settlers, they were the terror of lonely farming communities scattered across the Burragorang, Megalong and Kanimbla valleys, extending north to Lithgow and west beyond the vast Jenolan-Kanangra region.

Older Sightings
Pre 1950's
Stories of these mystery 'lions' are still the subject of campfire tales on dark Blue Mountains valley nights, for there are many people who, even today, have claimed encounters with the beasts. Many more still have found large catlike pad-marks in the ground.

In the year 1889, south of Hampton, high up on the range to the west of Megalong Valley, stock had been killed and eaten by an enormous catlike beast that left large paw-prints, suggesting a monster the size of a cow. Children were kept indoors, graziers and their farmliands went about their work in remote locations armed with rifles. The 'Megalong Monster", better known as the "Blue Mountains Lion" was again on the loose, said old settlers of the area.



In the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, a paper wa released that showed the Marsupial Lion (not a true lion but the Australian mammalian equivalent) was not only capable of climbing trees but was very capable of handling prey with versatile and retractable claws.


First complete skeleton recovered of a Marsupial Lion (on display at the Western Australian Museum)

From past investigations:
"Before turning to the Blue Mountains reports, let us first consider some interstate accounts, such as that of Mr Owen Wallace. While driving his Fiat car along a lonely dirt road north of Camarvon, Western Australia, one day in April 1975, Mr Wallace was sent into a state of shock: an enormous reddish-brown, long-haired, lion-like animal leapt from out of roadside tree-cover onto the car bonnet, leaving large scratch-marks before leaping off the other side onto the road and into trees on the opposite side."

Sounds like kitty was disappointed to learn that it was unable to "down a car" like it might have done with a cow or a bounding Kangaroo?


A Marsupial Lion's remains found in the Phosphate Mine, Wellington, NSW (near Mudgee)




A Marsupial Lion's skull - Note the lower "Molar" which is designed to shear bones.

Evidence from Aboriginal rock paintings suggests the Marsupial Lion was alive and well in years more recent that science would suggest. And that it was clearly striped: Quite an interesting painting here:



There's this creature photographed in Victoria in 1964 and is known as "Ritter's Critter" and has not been positively identified.


This creature's corpse was photographed at the Margaret River in Western Australia and has not been identified positively by any of the Australian museum staff engaged for this purpose. Though it is not a Thylacoleo carnifex - as evidenced by the teeth... however, judging by the size and placement of the canine teeth, it's clearly not a vegetarian. I'd suggest it looks like a domestic cat. I have two cats and the teeth are quite similar. Why the museum staff were unable to conclude the same is beyond me.


This "cat" was filmed by a Police Officer (PC Chris Swallow) on June 30, 2009 next to railway tracks that are 4 feet 8.5 inches apart from one another. The Animal's body was estimated to be approximately 33 inches long from note to base of tail (not including the tail) which would make it four to five time larger than the largest housecat you might come across. The estimate also allows for a length of up to 37 inches without the tail. The cat also moved with an agility on the tracks (walking on the actual rail) that required a sense of balance that dogs are physically incapable of. It's a large cat but could also be considered to be a Juvenile as this is the minimum likely size found in Black jungle cats in other parts of the world. Investigations suggest that this is most likely the mother of all Feral Cats. I'm inclined to believe with this conclusion and it would explain many sightings. To reproduce a question posed by another person online: Could some of Australia's big cat sightings actually have resulted from black morphs of the marsupial lion, thylacoleo?

But then there's this account of another creature:
" Just after we stop, right in front of us, a very large black animal comes out of the bush to the right of us, lopes in front of the 4WD, starts to halt, whilst turning its head to glare at us. He/she & I locked eyeballs - it did a quick lip curling snarl up the left side of its face & gave a flash of very weird looking teeth, very BIG teeth - so scary - will never forget that face or the look it gave me. I honestly thought it was sizing me up for a quick mid-day snack. It then picks up speed (very quickly) and then bounds across the track in front of us and into the bush at the left side (still looking back right at (gulp!) me - I thought it's head would snap right off it was looking at me that intently). Neither R nor I are normally scared by any animal but THAT animal (as wonderful as it was) scared me silly. Our other friend, on knees in the dirt, was busy fooling around with the front wheels of the 4WD and missed the action (but heard all the noise ... mostly from R & I - two bodies simultaneously diving into a 4WD, doors being slammed shut and locks being punched down make a lot of noise ...

A description: This is going to sound weird I know. I've never seen anything like it (and I thought I knew my animals, being an "Aussie Country Girl"). I saw it in broad daylight right in front of me. As it was against the light tan of the sand/dirt track with no vegetation to obscure anything, I could see so clearly - even down to its feet and (longish) toes. It's burned into my brain. He/She was big. VERY big. Ah - too big actually. Estimate of weight: I'm struggling here. I have a 30kg (she was the runt of the litter & wouldn't eat!) Rotti x Mastiff and it was well over twice her size. Two friends have Bullmastiffs. This was bigger than either of those two dogs. I asked my mates what their BMs weigh. They said about 50 & 60kg respectively (F & Male). So, I would say around 70-80kg in weight. Length & height: (once again comparing to the BMs) have to be 70cm shoulder; hind quarters seemed slighty lower -60-65cm but that may have been the way it held it's body; length: can't put a measurement to it but quite long bodied - about the same height:length ratio as one of the big cats - long bodied - supple.

Colour: All black with a white (tinge of beige/dirt?) "flash" possibly starting under jaw, but definitely down throat and onto chest (got wider on chest - splayed out towards shoulder fronts) - similar to a Tasmanian Devil's marks actually, but not as wide across the chest as a Devil. Saw no other spots, stripes, leg markings & no other colour on the body. Beautiful black fur. So shiny. (I wished I could have touched it - probably the last thing I would have touched on this earth I guess!) Short fur. Didn't look soft fur though - looked coarse & thick, but ever so shiny. It was in magnificent condition as far as I could tell.

Build: Very heavily muscled. This animal oozed strength. It had large powerful shoulders and a big, wide muscled chest. Body was quite long but tapered off down to (proportionately) slightly smaller hindquarters for an animal this size - but even they were heavily muscled on the thighs (but they were slightly more slender in proportion to its big shoulders & chest - if that makes sense). Its back wasn't quite flat or even dipped (ie. like a big cat) - had a slight "hump" to it towards the rump (near top of hips). The front legs were long and thick with big paws, and it appeared to have large thick (black?) claws in long thick toes. The muscles and tendons were very well defined in the front legs (it was a very tense animal). The back legs were more slender but still powerful. Big paws on the back too. The lower half of the rear legs (ie. shin bone) were much shorter than the top half (say thigh bone) - sort of like the proportions of a Tassie Tiger's back legs but thicker. Frankly, the back legs didn't look like they "matched" the front legs. The paws were quite big & they sort of "flopped" when it moved - like a big cat when they trot along. But the "toes" were different to a cat (or dog) - more slender & defined. (Later I tried to imagine what size claws this animal would have if it extended them fully like my domestic cat and I don't want to think about it again actually because they must be awesome.) When it moved, it loped in long quite graceful leaps, with the front end moving more like a dog but the rear end sort of going like a cat (a bit "hoppy" but, at the same time, actually running - not hopping - OK - that really didn't make sense. Hard to describe. It moved more like a big cat but there was something different about the way a cat moves in the hind leg/hip section.)

It speeded up after it checked us out and when it hit the scrub on the other side of the track it was moving extremely fast. Great acceleration. This animal can move very fast when it wants to. Just a huge push of those back legs and it was ... off! But, judging by it's build I would say it's a "sprinter" only. Ok, the head was amazing - like a cat but not like a cat. That's the only way I can describe it.

[Ed: TC Girl's PC dropped out after drafting the above. She picked up the story again as follows...]

Continuing on the head: broad, massive skull, big muscles down the cheeks/jaws, very "big cat" like but the muzzle itself was longer. Nose a bit bigger than a "cat-type nose" & black & shiny. Eyes (tawny brown colour?, not 100% sure). Eyes set just like a cat, to the front, with a heavy brow above them. Very penetrating "intelligent" eyes. Medium length whiskers. Cat like lips. Ears were quite short and pointed and set on the head like a cat - thicker than cat ears though. Teeth were weird - not like a cat. More "marsupial" type teeth at front. Big ones at the front. Not off to the side where you would expect canines to be. Seemed to be a gap up the side of jaw (where canines would normally be) and then more big thick teeth through to the back. Big solid molars. Closer together than a dog or cat. Could crunch through anything it wanted, I would think.

I keep saying "cat-like" but this is not a cat.

What a truly wonderful, amazing animal. My big "Cat-that-is-not-a-Cat" ... And here's the clincher ... my digital camera (which went with me everywhere last year - it was my new little toy) had been sitting right next to me on the back seat of the 4WD. I was so in awe (and, yes, frightened) that I didn't reach in and grab it!"


Sounds like a description of a black colored Marsupial Lion if the account is authentic.

But let's not let a good story get in the way of an Authentic Government Report:
http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews/editions/4720/features/feature02.htm
This is an Australian Defence Force Page about Australian Solders Vs a super predator that stood waist high:


(EXTRACT) - LOCATION: NORTH QUEENSLAND "It pulled up on a mound [about 50m away] and just sat there.

“We had our night weapon sight and our [night vision] on, watching it, and [the creature] was just sitting there sniffing and watching us.”

He said the creature stood about waist high on all fours, had a small head, was spotted and moved like a cat.

Leading Aircraftman Holland couldn’t reach a logical verdict on what type of animal it was.

“The two front legs were bigger than the two back legs, [with] big shoulder blades,” he said. “I would have said it was a hyena, but obviously we don’t have hyenas here.”

Even the trained tracking and attack dog seemed put off by the sight of the unusual creature; it quietly crept to the back of the group and stayed out of sight.
“No way,” he said. “It wasn’t a pig and it was no dog. Even the dog handler said it wasn’t a dog; it didn’t move like
a dog.

“It was weird looking – it was something that we’d all never seen before.”

After the first sighting, which, coincidentally, occurred on the night of a full moon, some of the patrol members scanned the quarry for signs of the animal and found a large and unusual footprint.

Two nights later, the next time the Air Force dog was with the patrol, the creature appeared again at about 5am
and lingered within 10m of the observation post. Again, the ADGs could not identify it."

Might send some chills down your spine to know this thing appeared in the dark, was only observed with Night Vision equipment and moved behind them whilst remaining out of sight... all rather silently. Some suggested it was a Speckled boar but the others disagreed due to the shape and movement of the animal.

According to one website, a guy named Paul Clacher (from Queensland) had a big cat website which included an image of a 16th century (Dutch?) map of Queensland depicting "native lions". Looking for a copy of this now... but all links are no longer active.

_________________

Before this thread, I was more of a Black Panther believer... but even i can't help but wonder if there's a Black Marsupial Lion out there that simply resembles a Panther in color and size. Either possibility seems as likely (and as unlikely) as the other. But regardless of WHAT it is, there's undoubtedly something out there. Love to know what it is! Still, animals keep getting dragged into trees and cattle and horses keep slashing their own rumps with 15 inch wide claws. I need an explanation for that.




"It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen," he said. "It opens your eyes up."
The size of the lump stripped out of the horse’s neck is something Mr Barry cannot fathom. "I’ve been around a while, and if anyone said to me it could have been a predator such as a panther, I would say no way, they’re crazy," he said.
"But this was a direct kill, plus the horse was dragged for about 20 feet – you can see the drag marks as clear as anything," he said.
"There is a rumour about a black panther that roams around this area.
"You don’t think it’s possible, but if you look at the gaping hole in my horse’s neck, you think twice.
"Also, what could have dragged a horse that distance? It isn’t something small.



He called upon the services of an Australian rare fauna researcher from Kallista.
Wolfram Richter has been researching the field since 1960 and suspects two large animals, presumably large cats, killed the horse.
"One could have been the territory holder, which would have attacked the horse, and the other would have then attacked it (the territory holder) – so neither would have taken any more food," he said.
"The horse is now too far gone for me to do any post mortem investigations, and has also been subject to second predation - which would have been foxes."
Mr Richter said he recently sighted a couple of pumas, one female that was melanistic, or primarily black in colour, and a male of normal reddish-brown colouring.
"There are both pumas and leopards in this country," he said.
Mr Richter said what some people called a panther was a member of the leopard family – just a melanistic member.

____________________________

It's time to take big cats seriously - Hakesbury Gazette
By Michael Williams
29/4/04
Recently a dubious plaster cast was presented to the media
as "evidence of a marsupial lion" loose in the lower Blue Mountains.
Naturally, the media had a field day mocking all reports of large
cats in the region.
To correct the impression there is no evidence for the existence of a
possible large feline predator in the lower Blue Mountains, I draw
your attention to extracts from Bulletin No 993 for the Minister for
Agriculture and Fisheries and other selected government documents.
The Deakin University study reported "the data collected by the
Deakin group support a level of credibility for the proposition that
a big cat population is established in the Grampians of south-west
Victoria that is beyond reasonable doubt".
Hard evidence of the existence of big cats in the lower Blue
Mountains includes:
- Dr Hart, a veterinarian from the Rural Lands Board, who believes
that scat samples are evidence of a large cat - "it wasn't a feral
cat, fox or dog scat". He also stated "the most likely explanation of
the evidence listed "is the presence of a large feline predator in
this area, most likely a leopard".
- A secured deer carcass three metres above ground was predated
by "an unknown animal capable of climbing a tree and holding on with
claws, there were significant claw marks".
- The hindquarters of a sheep that had damage consistent with the
claws of a large cat.
- Dr Johannes Bauer, who has wide experience in large cat surveys
overseas, concluded "difficult as it seems to accept, the most likely
explanation of the evidence is the presence of a large feline
predator".
- A scientist working on contract for NPWS collected plaster prints
in the Bilpin area which "appeared to be made by a large cat".
- A domestic cat killed at Grose Vale by something that crushed its
thorax and then leapt about three metres onto the roof of the house.
The unknown animal left more than 50 prints which were "cat-like in
form and leopard-sized with no evidence of nail marks associated with
the prints. This excludes the possibility that these prints were made
by a dog."
- Big cat sightings by residents who previously lived in South Africa
and were familiar with large cats, or by residents who have worked as
large cat handlers in zoos.
- In just the last seven years, collected sighting reports number
more than 100, with another 170 instances of scat samples/tree
scratches and predation reports.
It's clear from the evidence collected above by local people and
government employees that there is a big cat(s) operating in the
lower Blue Mountains area.
That so-called experts keen to capitalize on the publicity
surrounding the reports have trivialized the threat is disappointing.
Big cats are serious predators which represent a real danger to the
human populace - just look at cases in the United States where
cougars often attack hikers, or in Asia where people often fall prey
to tigers and other large cats.
If I didn't know better, I would think we'd stumbled into an episode
of the X-Files, where a very real phenomenon is being purposely
discredited and trivialized so we, the general public, won't be any
the wiser.
The State Government should get serious about these reports and drop
their tongue-in-cheek approach. It's only a matter of time before
sheep, goats and horses drop off the menu and something larger takes
its fancy.

Big cats not a tall tale,
Sun Herald, NSW
2/11/03
By Eamonn Duff

A STATE Government inquiry has found it is "more likely than not" a colony of "big cats" is roaming Sydney's outskirts and beyond.
The revelations are the result of a fresh four-month investigation into the "black panther phenomenon" which for years has plagued residents across Sydney's west, north-west, Richmond, the Blue Mountains and Lithgow.
While National Parks and Wildlife officials are yet to implement a positive course of action, a senior source confirmed last night a big cat expert had been contacted with a view to future work.
He said: "While we still haven't got conclusive evidence that the creature exists, compiled evidence points strongly to the fact that it does."
The source added: "If and when an expert is commissioned, the first aim would be to identify exactly what sort of animal it is. The second would be to ascertain how many there might be."
Although big cat sightings across NSW date back more than 100 years, speculation intensified in May 2001 when a successful Freedom of Information request revealed the NSW Government had been maintaining a secret file on the creature.
It also revealed wildlife hierarchy were so concerned about the potential threat to humans that they commissioned big cat expert Dr Johannes Bauer to evaluate what had previously been deemed unthinkable.
He concluded: "Difficult as it seems to accept, the most likely explanation of the evidence . . . is the presence of a large feline predator."
While conclusive proof has failed to materialise since, sightings have continued to flow in from bushwalkers, tourists and local residents, including a NSW police officer and a Qantas pilot.
When Kenthurst teenager Luke Walker suffered deep cuts in March this year and said they were the result of a terrifying struggle with a panther-like cat, the NSW Government reopened the case.
The latest report, compiled by NSW Agriculture and obtained exclusively by The Sun-Herald, included a review of sightings and extensive interviews with residents of Grose Vale, where the creature has frequently been sighted.
It found that recent witnesses to big cat activity in NSW were highly credible.
Also taken into consideration was a previous report by Dr Keith Hart, district veterinarian of the Moss Vale Rural Lands Protection Board, who, after testing scat samples, concluded a large cat was living in the Grose Vale area.
The report said: "Nothing found in this review conclusively proves the presence of free-ranging exotic large cats in NSW, but this cannot be discounted and seems more likely than not on available evidence."
One theory the report refused to dismiss was that "historically, sightings in Eastern Australia occur in old gold mining areas and that anecdotal evidence suggests pumas [Felis concolor] were brought to Australia by American goldminers in the 1850s.

________________________________________

There's a list of reports here: http://www.australianbigcats.bravehost.com/Media.html plus a range of interviews including one on a couple from Mudgee who claim to have shot one, killing it, before being afraid of getting into trouble and dumping the body over a fence. Also reports of animal veterinarians in the region who have signed statements stating their opinions on the creatures. Some very interesting information.

If these things are in the Goldfields, it might be worth keeping a camera handy for those who don't normally carry one.

Thanks a lot Nero!!! You have succeeded in making me think twice about being in the bush on my lonesome especially after stayyerAu also talking about the same in areas that I frequent in WA. As I said before I have seen 2 such "animals" myself but I was a lot younger (in the 70's) and always armed so felt a lot more secure. Now with nothing and mostly going bush on my own makes it a little more worrying. It doesn't take much when you are alone to give yourself the wind-up so to speak. Both episodes with myself the animals were moving too fast and generally over 300 yards away, too risky to take a pot shot at.

One night I was parked off the road down between Ravensthorpe and Esperence area in around 1976. I had my Dingo with me (always my constant companion). I was sitting in front of a fire having a final cuppa before going to bed and my dog started to snarl, a blood curling snarl I had never heard him do before. His fur was up on his back and he was looking out from the camp. I couldn't see anything it was pitch black. I knew it wasn't a roo or the like as my dog would have reacted differently. He backed back closer to me and wasn't going to advance towards whatever he could see or sense. You have never seen anyone pack up camp so quickly. Everything, billy and all was just thrown into the back of my Landrover SWB and the dog didn't need any coaxing to jump in. I slammed the back gates and climbed over all my gear and just got out of there as quick as the old girl would go. Never knew what it was but right up until the dingo died he never reacted that way again anywhere. He was the last dog I ever owned as I could never find another dingo to get. I know whatever he saw wasn't something normal like another dog, human, pig or the like as he would have advanced on it, I never in 10 years ever saw that dog scared even if he was chasing or being chased by a wild boar except that night.

I haven't seen anymore unusual animals since prospecting, other than the wild dogs and the occasional dingo, nothing that would overly scare me. I might go and get a rifle now though

I must say though you put up the best and most convincing arguments for and against certain subjects with credible sources. Even though as I mentioned you put the wind up me please do continue as I find it a very fascinating subject.... Thanks. BTW saw your name on the credits of Happy Feet the other night on TV. I remember you mentioning it once so I looked...

Also bugger the camera gimme a gun!!!

Thanks Ismael. I worked on that film full-time for about four years whilst doing several nearly a dozen other movies and television series simultaneously. Good days - we won an Oscar® for our work on that one (Best Animated Feature for 2006). Heaviest thing I've ever held in my life.


I remember reading how Lasseter (of Lasseter's Reef fame) would refuse to sleep outside at night under the stars and would return to their vehicle to sleep every night - if they brought one. His fellow prospectors found it peculiar and seemed to think he was frightened of something. I do find myself wondering how he fared when the traveled in an expedition with only horses ...and no car to sleep in.

Here's a VERY creepy looking dog-like animal that was filmed (possibly out your way) that looks like a deformed starving dog with mange and an unusually long snout. Some have suggested this is proof positive of a Tasmanian Tiger on the mainland. Not quite a dog though I can't say what it is. Wonder what it was?

Nice sleuthing Nero !

Were they amateurs or pranksters looking to create an internet hoax or were they really hoping to catch a Big Cat on camera?
I have no idea.

Amateurs trying to catch the bigcat.
If they were hoaxing it..they would not have mentioned at 1.52 about the claw marks appearing at the front of the tree which faced the camera(Why did the camera not fire away)
The only way this all could have possibly happened..to try and stay rational is..(as previously suggested by another poster)..someone came down..found the carcass and noticed the camera..turned the camera off..removed the stinking carcass and took it away.And started the camera again..and slashed the tree with a knife..



I'd suggest it looks like a domestic cat. I have two cats and the teeth are quite similar.

Correct..It was id by Darren Naish, a paleozoologist from the site you linked to(from the dentition) as moggy.

Gday

I had narrowed down a couple of spots where I believe a big cat could have lived, in one of the locations that I mentioned earlier, one of the areas used to have a massive goat population but now they have all but been removed so its likely that it would have moved on as well to an area with a better food source.

I have more recent information of a location that it appears a big cat is living in, its about 250 klms from there, and within the area that I have heard of previous sightings, so I am not really surprised, when I am next in this area I will investigate the information I have been given.

For the record I only believe in the existance of these animals purely because of having seen one for myself, I am not upset by the fact that others are sceptical, as I am sure I would be a bit that way myself if I had not had the personal experience, its not out of the realms of possibility for many unknown animals to exists in the wilds of any Australian state, there is simply so much bush that is rarely visited that they can hide in, the reason I believe they are seen more in some years than others is quite simple, there are many species of animals that follow their primary food source.

Another thing even if I do actually find and document one of these animals I would not make the location or make public anything that could lead others to it , as I would not want to harm it and would only want the information to satsify my own curiosity, but I would of course want people to be aware of its existance for their own safety so thats is a bit of a dilemma in itself.

From previous experience I have seen how people react to the information, with the idea of killing one to make money out of proving its existence usually, so I have no doubt that if I revealed the exact locations that I know of already there would be people out there prepared to go there to shoot at it, offering the information to the authories would be waste of time as well, they would either sweep it under the carpet and dismiss it, or send in people to knock it off.

A local in Jarrahdale told of how he encountered a small group of camo clad hunters armed with high powered rifles near a quarry in the area in the seventies during the hayday of cougar sightings, they told him that they worked for the government and sent him on his way, it was believed at the time that there was a small group of cats living in the vicinity, very possibly the one I saw was one from this group as it was only 40-50 klm away from there where I saw it, anyway sightings eventually stopped so you would have to conclude that these blokes did there job, nothing more was ever revealed or made public.

cheers

stayyerAU

Great Post Nero
The areas in Nth Western Sydney that have numerous big cat sightings are on the fringe of a wilderness corridoor. This passage runs from Kurrajong in the north and Bowen Mountain/Grose vale in the south,extending in a south-west direction behind Lithgow onto the Jenolan/Oberon districts.Population is sparse in these areas,so in theory,a large cat could even roam further south or even north(into the Woolamei national park) without being detected.
It is primarily sandstone escarpment and has limited exposure to humans due to its extreme inaccessability. Having Backpacked this area for many years,I can give testament to the enormous amount of caves,overhangs and conglomerations of landslide debris that all forms suitable habitat for large preditors.

That youtube clip has to be a Tasmanian tiger in my view Nero. The pronounced backbone is un-dog like and the animal seems in good health.
Who knows whats still out there......

nero_design wrote:

Here's a VERY creepy looking dog-like animal that was filmed (possibly out your way) that looks like a deformed starving dog with mange and an unusually long snout. Some have suggested this is proof positive of a Tasmanian Tiger on the mainland. Not quite a dog though I can't say what it is. Wonder what it was?

Hi Nero
I have seen aboriginal pet dogs in camps whilst working on the lands with mange so bad they have lost all hair and are a sun burnt mess ,looks very similar to this video but the mangy fox I walked up to a few years ago just standing in the middle of a track looks more like it.
It's nothing strange but simply a mange transformation of some poor animal.
Cheers Mark

Seen a black panther ( eg Nero's Black Beauty ) 26 years ago up in Mt Disappointment Victoria. By the time I backed up the TOJO and pulled the gun out it was long gone. Jet black large and quick...

BTW I have had some fairly good tough hard dogs to in my day but sometimes out there in the bush they get spooked real bad. hmmmm anyway.

Having seen a live black panther and a live couger I can tell you that they bear no resemblance to a normal feral cat, no matter how big that feral cat is. But even so, a couger is suprisingly small and could never drag a horse 20 feet or lift a large 'roo up into a tree fork.

If you saw a cougar or a panther you would have no doubts about what you saw but I still maintain that it as likely these cats are in the Aussie bush as there are fairies in the bottom of my garden.

Cheers, Jim

I grew up in Penrith (home of the Penrith Panthers NRL team) and I spent a lot of time in the lower blue mountains (now I live in VIC).

I never saw a panther or a lion but on several occasions always while driving at night, I saw MASSIVE feral cats in the bush.

I was very suprised each time at just how much bigger they are, and more muscular, then a domestic cat. A couple of them could easily take down a cow/horse/sheep.

I know plenty of people who claim to have seen a Panther or Lion and I always just assumed that what they saw were the same MASSIVE feral cats that I saw. I could be wrong, but when you hear farmers talking about their stock being killed, and they say things like "only a large cat could do this, it wasn't a feral cat", I am not sure if they realise just how big the ferals get. Like I said I have no doubt that 1 or 2 of them could easily bring down a horse.

i was camped at bumaroo ford on the abacrombie in 1991 dove to taralga to get ice on the way back rounding a bend there was a rocky outcrop above the road & standing on this was a large black cat the size of a panther i stopped was about to send my dog bully/cattle x staffy up there but i dont think he would have had much hope & all i had was a .22 not much help either

if these big cats are around they must be very slow breeders...or very old cats as it's a long time from the war years to now when they were supposedly brought here...

Certainly interesting evidence out there in the form of sightings, scats & scratch marks..

What a load of poppycock! FFS! one minute old mate cant see these two animals 30 Mt away with his flat torch, takes a "pot shot"    next minute he sees em 300 yds. away, FFS!.....make up your phreaking mind, typical bullshit artist story.

Wayne.

Flakmagnet wrote:we have mountain lions around our neighborhood and in the surrounding hills,
they are not intimidated by us at all.
also have bobcats which are the quickest animal i have every seen...a blur when they decide to shift to 'go'...

Nero, that picture of the cats on either side of the screen was amazing.

Whereabouts is this neighbourhood you speak of? In Australia?!
Sounds like somewhere I used to live in Canada.

Mountain lions & bobcats roamed the forest surrounding the town.
And we once saw two Canadian Lynx on opposite sides of the highway facing each other. It was quite surreal.